They know the deal: Losing eventually trickles up.(baseball - marginal major league general managers)(Brief Article)

Heaven knows the job isn't easy. Even the best general managers make mistakes. Even the smartest can look dumb, especially when operating on a limited budget. There's a long list of G.M.s who will draw intense scrutiny in 2001, though not every one of them is in danger of losing his job.

* Dan Duquette, Red Sox: How is it that he reportedly received a three-year extension? The Red Sox began the season with a top-three payroll, but the pieces don't fit and Duquette frequently is at odds with Jimy Williams, one of the best managers in the game. William's frustration with the makeup of the club was evident when he opened the season with three players on his bench--Mike Lansing, Jose Offerman and Dante Bichette--earning a combined $19 million.

Nomar Garciaparra is the only everyday player drafted, developed and retained by the Sox since Duquette took over in 1994. Duquette traded pitching prospects Chris Reitsma (Reds) and Matt Kinney (Twins), and his deal for Lansing and Rolando Arrojo--a pitcher demoted to the bullpen--was a horror.

* Kevin Malone, Dodgers: He's signed through 2002 and backed by team chairman Bob Daly. But the Dodgers also are a top-three payroll club, and if they flop again this season, both Daly and Malone could be held responsible.

Malone's "new sheriff in town" comments were taken far too seriously, but his signings of Carlos Perez and Devon White and public criticisms of former manager Davey Johnson were serious blunders. From rookie manager Jim Tracy to volatile veteran Gary Sheffield, an awful lot needs to go right for Malone to prove that he's turning the Dodgers around.

* Syd Thrift, Orioles: Excuse us: Thrift isn't a G.M. Owner Peter Angelos disdains the title, and the men who hold it. But whatever you call Thrift--the Orioles prefer "vice president of baseball operations" --it's clear that he's the wrong man to rebuild a franchise that has become the laughing-stock of the sport.

It isn't Thrift's fault that Angelos waited at least two years too long to approve veteran-for-prospect trades. It is his fault that the trades appear to have yielded so little. The Orioles are headed toward a fourth straight losing season for the first time in club history. When will Angelos wake up?